Quote collection
114 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Novels institutionalize the ruse of eros. It becomes a narrative texture of sustained incongruence, emotional and cognitive. It permits the reader to stand in triangular relation to the characters in the story and reach into the text after the objects of their desire, sharing their longing but also detached from it, seeing their view of reality but also its mistakenness. It is almost like being in love."
"Men know almost nothing about desire, they think it has to do with sexual activity or can be discharged that way. But sex is a substitute, like money or language. Sometimes I just want to stop seeing."
"DEATH . . . And now you are here to fight for this woman. You know her promise is given. She has to die or her husband won't go free. APOLLO Relax, I'm not breaking any laws. DEATH Why the bow, if you're breaking no laws? APOLLO I always carry a bow, it's my trademark."
"Maybe I could have been good as a drawer if I had done it as much as I did writing, but it's more scary to draw. It's more revealing. You can't disguise yourself in drawing."
"Here we go mother on the shipless ocean. Pity us, pity the ocean, here we go."
"Everything depends on liking the people and trusting the people. You have to assume that whatever they do will be as good as you want the thing to be and just go ahead with that."
"We participate in the creation of the world by decreating ourselves."
"We humans seem disastrously in love with this thing (whatever it is) that glitters on the earth-- we call it life."
"Aristotle says that metaphor causes the mind to experience itself in the act of making a mistake."
"Philosophers say man forms himself in dialogue."
"At least half of your mind is always thinking, I'll be leaving; this won't last. It's a good Buddhist attitude. If I were a Buddhist, this would be a great help. As it is, I'm just sad."
"he stood against the wind and let it peel him clean"
"The man has a theory. The woman has hipbones. Here comes Death."
"All myth is an enriched pattern, a two-faced proposition, allowing its operator to say one thing and mean another, to lead a double life. Hence the notion found early in ancient thought that all poets are liars. And from the true lies of poetry trickled out a question. What really connects words and things?"
"I do think I have an ability to record sensual and emotional facts and factoids, to construct a convincing surface of what life feels like, both physical life and emotional life."
"Philosophy - hopeless. Yet it gives me hope."
"Love is a good place to situate our distrust of fake women."
"Desire is no light thing."
"It is for God to fix the time who knows no time."
"No one will ever make necessity not happen."